Bardian61 Posted May 4, 2018 #1 Share Posted May 4, 2018 I just switched to T-Mobile for the .20 calls in countries I am visiting and unlimited text and data. However, I have been told that T-Mobile will not work on the Royal Princess. It is imperative that I am able to call a land line with a cell phone from the ship to keep in touch with my aging mother who doesn't have wifi/computer/etc. Has anyone tried to call with T-Mobile on the royal? why would it work on other princess ships and not the royal? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruiserBruce Posted May 4, 2018 #2 Share Posted May 4, 2018 I think it will work, just not at that price. I haven't heard of any super low prices for cell service, for any carrier, on any ship. You have to use the ship's tower, into satellite service. You are captive to the cruise line cell service, outside of the T Mobile system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bardian61 Posted May 4, 2018 Author #3 Share Posted May 4, 2018 Thanks for the quick response. According to the T-Mobile website and also the representatives for some reason it will not work on the Royal. I have talked to about 3 reps. There is some kind of different maritime agreement. I know I'll have to pay $5plus per minute plus .50 for a text but I just don't think the Royal is included in the service. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrincessLuver Posted May 4, 2018 #4 Share Posted May 4, 2018 I just switched to T-Mobile for the .20 calls in countries I am visiting and unlimited text and data. However, I have been told that T-Mobile will not work on the Royal Princess. It is imperative that I am able to call a land line with a cell phone from the ship to keep in touch with my aging mother who doesn't have wifi/computer/etc. Has anyone tried to call with T-Mobile on the royal? why would it work on other princess ships and not the royal?[/quote I have T-Mobile and used it on the Regal recently. I used the Skype app on my IPhone X and was charged only from my Skype account which was very minimal and I was able to easily make calls from the ship. Also had unlimited internet... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Potstech Posted May 4, 2018 #5 Share Posted May 4, 2018 Make sure they have the number for the ship in case there is an emergency call needed. They will take a message and contact you with the information given them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HJH Posted May 4, 2018 #6 Share Posted May 4, 2018 I have T-Mobile and it works great ashore or in port where you can get a mobile signal. Their service, or any mobile carrier will not work while at sea since you are too far from land. As you have found out, there is service, but very expensive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrincessLuver Posted May 4, 2018 #7 Share Posted May 4, 2018 I have T-Mobile and it works great ashore or in port where you can get a mobile signal. Their service, or any mobile carrier will not work while at sea since you are too far from land. As you have found out, there is service, but very expensive. There are apps that will work with Wifi....Skype, Facetime and other VOIP apps can access ships wifi and if you had unlimited wifi on the Regal like we just did there is no problem.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idahospud Posted May 4, 2018 #8 Share Posted May 4, 2018 I just switched to T-Mobile for the .20 calls in countries I am visiting and unlimited text and data. However, I have been told that T-Mobile will not work on the Royal Princess. It is imperative that I am able to call a land line with a cell phone from the ship to keep in touch with my aging mother who doesn't have wifi/computer/etc. Has anyone tried to call with T-Mobile on the royal? why would it work on other princess ships and not the royal? When you told the rep "Royal" did you you specifically say "Royal Princess" or just "Royal"? Royal is Royal Caribbean and may be different. If you have T-Mobile you can access wi-fi calling. If you purchase an internet package you can use the ship's wifi and your per-minute call will be cheaper. Your mom doesn't need the wifi for those calls, just you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IECalCruiser Posted May 4, 2018 #9 Share Posted May 4, 2018 We have AT&T and their cruise package is not available on the Royal or the Regal. Other posters have stated that you can use WiFi calling with T-Mobile. That would be your best option because your only cost is for the WiFi minutes on the ship. WiFi calling worked for us in the Mediterranean. Sent from my iPhone using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Centsless_Cruiser Posted May 5, 2018 #10 Share Posted May 5, 2018 We just returned from the 28 day Hawaii Tahiti cruise on the Emerald and other than some hiccups with getting WiFi calling configured on our phone it worked pretty well. So if your phone supports WiFi calling you just need internet minutes. Sent from my SM-G950U using Forums mobile app Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare PescadoAmarillo Posted May 5, 2018 #11 Share Posted May 5, 2018 We have T-Mobile and were in and around Australia last fall. If we were close enough to shore, I’d actually get cellular data from land and would use a voice app (Vonage or Skype...I prefer Vonage because my number appears on the Caller ID) to phone my mom. When we weren’t, I’d phone her using the app and ship’s WiFi. We never, in almost three months, made a call using local cellular for $.20 a minute; we used Vonage for $.01 per minute. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thrak Posted May 5, 2018 #12 Share Posted May 5, 2018 Another vote for WiFi calling. I used it for almost an hour in Canada where I had no plan. It worked great. Try going to Settings and looking for Advanced Calling. If your phone supports WiFi calling (and, unless it's old, it should) you should find the setting there or in something similar. You will, of course, need Internet access but it's likely much cheaper than using the ship's cell tower. Also concur with the Vonage option but then I already use Vonage as my wife likes to keep the old landline number that her family called on for the last 35 years or so. I use it over my cable Internet but there is definitely a setup for cell phones with the account. If you have Vonage (I think I pay about $18.50 per month but it makes my wife happy and all political and spam calls go to that number as well as messages from doctors, etc. I don't get hassled on my cell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thrak Posted May 5, 2018 #13 Share Posted May 5, 2018 Another vote for WiFi calling. I used it for almost an hour in Canada where I had no plan. It worked great. Try going to Settings and looking for Advanced Calling. If your phone supports WiFi calling (and, unless it's old, it should) you should find the setting there or in something similar. You will, of course, need Internet access but it's likely much cheaper than using the ship's cell tower. Also concur with the Vonage option but then I already use Vonage as my wife likes to keep the old landline number that her family called on for the last 35 years or so. I use it over my cable Internet but there is definitely a setup for cell phones with the account. I think I pay about $18.50 per month but it makes my wife happy and all political and spam calls go to that number as well as messages from doctors, etc. I don't get hassled on my cell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Hlitner Posted May 5, 2018 #14 Share Posted May 5, 2018 You have two choices when using T-Mobile on the ship. You can use the ship's Cell Phone system and pay over $5 a minutes. or.....You can use T-Mobile WiFi for the cost of using WiFi on the ship (many of us get lots of free WiFi minutes on Princess). In order to make phone calls over T-Mobile WiFi you must make sure to enable that option once you get T-Mobile. As long as your ship WiFi connection is decent (not always true) you will be able to make WiFi calls. Hank Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abbymac Posted May 15, 2018 #15 Share Posted May 15, 2018 We just got off the Royal Princess in Southampton. We have T-Mobile with unlimited data internationally. Our calls from England or France are $.20 per minute. I used the phone several times onboard (not using the ship's wifi but just calling as usual). No problem at all - when T-Mobile was available. Some ports didn't have it, but most did. Abby Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antsp Posted May 16, 2018 #16 Share Posted May 16, 2018 We just got off the Royal Princess in Southampton. We have T-Mobile with unlimited data internationally. Our calls from England or France are $.20 per minute. I used the phone several times onboard (not using the ship's wifi but just calling as usual). No problem at all - when T-Mobile was available. Some ports didn't have it, but most did. Abby[/quote If you’ve made calls at sea using the ships mobile network, not WiFi, it will cost you about $4 a minute. No cell provider includes this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GweninTX Posted May 16, 2018 #17 Share Posted May 16, 2018 I have used Wi-Fi calling on all Princess ships and I have T-Mobile. This year I used it on Crown, Regal and Emerald - no issues. But you MUST get it configured with t-mobile BEFORE you leave the US. It has to do with 911 agreements. Go into an office and make sure it works before you go. On our 60 day South America and Polynesian Islands cruise it worked in all places onshore except Falkland Islands and Bora Bora& Papeete. Sent from my iPhone using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IECalCruiser Posted May 16, 2018 #18 Share Posted May 16, 2018 If you’ve made calls at sea using the ships mobile network, not WiFi, it will cost you about $4 a minute. No cell provider includes this.Actually, AT&T now has two cruise plans for use when connected to the ships tower. I haven’t cruised since the plans were available. The plans are not available on the Royal or Regal but are available on the Majestic and all other Princess ships. For $50/30 days you get 50 minutes of talk with $2/min for overages and unlimited text. For $100/30days you get 200MB of data with $2/MB for overages, unlimited talk and unlimited text. Sent from my iPad using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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